A monster?! In my book? Ah! Get it out! Get it out! Get it out! Make sure you follow all of the directions in the book very carefully in order to get that little monster out, or maybe, just maybe the little monster can stay after all. Go on a wild ride in one of the best interactive toddlers books, There’s a Monster in Your Book by Tom Fletcher.
Interactive toddler books require a bit more out of the reader than traditional books. They ask the reader to become part of the story. In the instance of There’s a Monster in Your Book, you’ll be asked to perform all sorts of tasks to get the monster out. Without the reader’s help, the story cannot move forward. I absolutely adore stories like this because it forces the child and the parents to not only interact with the book, but also with each other. These books are specifically designed to help you learn, grow, and giggle together, the roots of My Book Bud. Your kids will be begging you to read this one over and over, I guarantee it!
In this post, you’ll find four literacy activities related to one of the most engaging interactive toddler books, There’s a Monster in Your Book by Tom Fletcher. These activities were designed to teach and engage, but also keep the lighthearted nature of the book at the forefront. You’ll find activities on inference, predicting, problem solving, and a bonus activity about using your imagination in this post. So go on and try everything you can to get that pesky monster out of your book…or maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all.
Table of Contents
There’s a Monster in Your Book
Author: Tom Fletcher
Illustrator: Greg Abbott
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers, 2017
Summary: That’s one stubborn monster! You try everything possible to boot him out of your book, but what happens when you do?! Oh, no! Now he’s loose in your room! On second thought, maybe your book is the best place for that mischievous trouble-maker. Now stay put, little monster!
Skills to Tackle with Interactive Toddler Books (There’s a Monster in Your Book):
Inference: Best for ages 2.5-4
When you make an inference while reading, you combine your background knowledge and the evidence from the text to determine something that is not directly stated by the author. We also do this in our daily lives making inference such an important skill to learn.
For Example:
- If you and your kids built a snowman together and the next day when you woke up, it was half melted, you would make the inference that the temperature went up overnight. No one had to directly tell you that. You used the evidence of the half melted snowman plus what you already know about weather to make that determination.
After working so hard to get that pesky monster out of your book, you finally did it! Hooray! But wait, now the little monster is loose in your room. Uh-oh, that monster is going to cause all kinds of mischief if he is running around in your room. Quick, call him back! What’s this? The poor little monster looks terrified. It seems like he didn’t want to be loose in your room after all. Look, now that he’s safe and sound back in your book he looks like he feels safe and comfortable.
You and your child can discuss how the monster is feeling based on his facial expressions and his reactions to the interactions with the reader throughout There’s a Monster in Your Book by Tom Fletcher. Interactive toddler books are a great way to practice inference because they are fun and when your child is having a good time, they are more open to learning something new.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: When we were trying to get the little monster out of the book, it looked like he might have been having fun. How could you tell he was having a good time?
- Child: The little monster was smiling and giggling a lot.
- Parent: Yeah, even though we were tickling, spinning, and titling him around, he was still having fun. It made me think of when daddy comes up from work and does those things with you! You always have fun when daddy does that so no wonder that didn’t scare the little monster off!
- Parent: When the little monster got kicked out the book, he didn’t look as happy though. How did he look after we called him back into the book?
- Child: He looked scared and worried.
- Parent: How could you tell?
- Be sure to ask this question as this is where the inference will take place.
- Child: He was hiding under one of the pages and he was frowning.
- Parent: Once he was back in your room, what did he look like?
- Child: He looked so happy! He was jumping up and down and smiling!
- Parent: Yeah! I started to feel bad for the monster. His home is inside of that book and we were trying to kick him out! How would you feel if someone came into our house and tried to kick you out for no reason at all!
- Child: I would be so angry and confused! It would also make me sad and worried because I wouldn’t know what was going to happen next and that can be scary.
You and your child can continue the conversation and talk about how the monster appeared to feel safe and comfortable at the end. You can make the connection to their own homes and tell them that when they’re at home, they are safe and loved.
Oftentimes at night, my oldest will call me back into her room after saying goodnight and tell me that she is scared. I always remind her that she’s safe when she’s at home. I go through our whole family and say that each person is there for her and knows that she is safe. We then talk through a couple of ways that she can feel safe and loved even when I’m not in the room with her.
Interactive toddler books are silly in nature, but can lead to some deep and meaningful conversations about feeling cared for, loved and, safe, and There’s a Monster in Your Book by Tom Fletcher is no exception that that!
Prediction: Best for ages 2-4
What will happen next in the story?? Predicting requires the reader to use text-evidence to make an “educated guess” about what will happen next. Kids often confuse inference with prediction as they both require the use of text evidence, but they are very different skills.
- Prediction is using clues in the text to “guess” what will happen next.
- Inference is using clues in the text along with your own background knowledge to read between the lines. Inferences are not directly stated in the text.
Interactive toddler books are the perfect way to practice prediction as they have you perform a task on one page that will directly impact something on the next page. You can work on predicting by simply asking, “What do you think is going to happen?”
You and your child can make predictions while reading the story to determine what will happen to the monster next. A true prediction would come on the first read before your child knows what was going to happen so that they could make an educated guess about what would come next.
If this is a story you and your child have already read, it is a great way to practice recall of events as repeatedly reading with your child is a fundamental way to build literacy skills. You can ask the question, “Do you remember what happens to the monster when we *fill in the action from the book.”
The example conversation will be as if the parent is reading the book with the child for the very first time.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: I think we’re going to have to work really hard to get this little monster out of the book! Let’s see if our hard work is going to pay off! It’s asking us to tickle the monster! What do you think will happen? Do you think that is going to get him out of the book?
- Child: I think he is going to laugh! I don’t think it’s going to work though. I think he’s still going to stay in the book even though we tickled him.
- Turn the page and find out if you were right!
- Parent: Look! He laughed, but he didn’t budge! Here it’s asking us to spin around. What do you think is going to happen? Will spinning help get him out of the book?
- Child: He is just going to get dizzy. When I’m dizzy I just fall down, but it doesn’t make me go away. So I think he will still be in the book.
- Parent: Looks like you were right! Now it’s asking us to be really loud and make a bunch of noise. Is it going to work this time?
- Child: I think he is just going to put on some headphones and ignore us!
- Parent: Wow, that was a good guess, but it turned out that we did chase him out of the book after all!
These are just a few of the examples from the book, but try to set your child up by asking them what they think is going to happen next before you turn the page. Sometimes their answers might be right on target, and other times they might be way off. Fortunately there really isn’t a right or wrong answer unless they go completely way off topic as their answer should be at least related to the story (an educated guess).
Some of their answers may even surprise you and make you laugh! This is a great opportunity to be silly and connect further with your child. If they say something silly like they think the monster will be wearing headphones so he can ignore the reader, try to follow up with something else silly like, “I think he will cover his ears and say ‘blah, blah, blah’ every time we talk!”
Remember, connecting with your child is the goal. Getting them to laugh always creates connection. Interactive toddler books are breeding grounds for connection. Open one up and don’t be afraid to get silly!
Problem Solving: Best for ages 3-5
Problem solving is an extremely important skill every child needs to develop. It will not only help them in school, but it also helps them build resilience, perseverance, and confidence to navigate through everyday situations.
In this activity, the problem solving will be hypothetical, but it is a good way to practice problem solving in a low stakes environment where your child won’t feel pressured to be wrong or right.
Interactive toddler books are great for problem solving because you are usually working toward a goal. Switching it up and asking your child to think of other paths that could have been taken to “solve” the problem really helps to develop this skill.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: We tried getting that silly monster out of the book in so many different ways. We tickled him, spun him, titled him, and even blew on him. When we finally made our voices really loud, that’s when we chased him out of the book. Do you think there are other ways we could have gotten him out of the book?
- Your child might not be able to come up with a new way on the spot, so be sure to help them brainstorm if they find this question challenging.
- Child: Well, in the book they asked us to tell really loud, but maybe if we also clapped really loud it would have worked!
- Parent: Yeah, the monster in the book didn’t seem like it liked loud noises! So maybe clapping loud would have worked too! Can you think of another way?
- Child: Maybe we could have jumped up and down with the book!
- Parent: Ohh! What a good idea! Maybe the jumping would have bounced him out of the book! Can you think of one more way?
- Child: Maybe we could have flipped the book upside down and all around in the air!
- Parent: That seems like it definitely would have worked! Well, let’s put these ideas to the test!
Bring these ideas to life! Get an old shoe box and put a stuffed animal inside to act as the monster. Tell your child that you are going to play “There’s a Monster in My Box!”
Tell your child that this monster is a little bit different from the one in the book. This is necessary because the “monster” in the box won’t react the same way as the monster in the book since it’s not alive and they will have to use different methods to get it out of the box!
Then put your ideas from above to the test! Use the ideas from the book and the new ideas that you came up with together and see which strategies work! At the end, you can put the monster back in the box and cover him up with a blanket because just like the monster in the book, the monster in your game is the most comfortable in the box!
This game has a ton of opportunities to be silly and have fun with your child! There is no wrong way to try to get the monster out! Don’t forget to keep track of which ways worked the best and how those ways were different from getting the monster in the book.
Interactive toddler books can often be brought to life like this in very simple ways. All you need is just a small amount of creativity and imagination.
Free Printable!
Use the free printable below to work on problem-solving and perseverance! Cut out the monster puzzle pieces and invite your toddler to put each puzzle back together. There are four puzzles to choose from: 4, 9, 12, and 15 pieces. Start simple and work your way up. As the puzzles become more challenging, your child will need to use more problem-solving skills. Puzzles are a great way to build thinking, focus, and perseverance… so let the monster solving begin!
Expansion Activity: Best for ages 2.5-5
Pretend you’re an alligator! Or a lion! Or a puppy! If they were reading There’s a Monster in Your Book instead of you, how would they try getting the monster out?! This super basic activity will put your child into the shoes of someone or something else to think creatively and continue building their problem solving skills. Interactive toddler books open the door for fun games and interactions. So don’t miss out on fun times like this!
Have your child pick two or three animals they’d like to pretend to be. Then ask what those animals would do to try and get the monster out. Your child might say “snap” or “chomp” for the alligator, “roar” for the lion, and “bark” for the puppy! If your child finds this activity challenging, be sure to use some leading questions such as, “If an elephant tried getting the monster out, would it use its trunk? How?” You can also model a few answers first and then ask the leading questions with different ideas afterwards.
There is so much room for fun and silliness in this activity. If your child has a favorite movie character or toy, you can use them in the same way as the animals. The goal is to have your kid think about things from a different perspective. How would someone or something else react in this situation?
My family owns a big, goofy bulldog named Chubbs. If I asked my kids what Chubbs would do to get the monster out, I’d try steering them in a different direction beyond just barking. As noted before, my kids are *sigh, unfortunately* obsessed with fart jokes. My bulldog is constantly stinkin’ the house up with his toots. If I said Chubbs might try tooting in the book to chase the monster out, my kids would fall on the floor laughing. Remember, your goal is to connect with your child and laughter is the quickest way to do this. Be silly and have fun, even if it means you have to crack a fart joke every once in a while!
To Wrap Things Up:
I wish I could shout from the rooftops how much I love this book. It is one of my kid’s absolute favorites. And even after the 100th read, they still get a kick out of the little monster every time. When I tell you that you need this book, you need it! You will not regret it! Get read, giggles are coming in one of our favorite interactive toddler books, There’s a Monster in Your Book by Tom Fletcher!
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